Favourite T-shirt of the week

A few years back I started photographing people wearing Che Guevara T-shirts. I always asked permission first, and was always pleasantly surprised how readily people agreed to have their photo taken. I put the photos into a blog: https://wearingche.blogspot.com/

I encountered this guy on a recent visit to Cambridge, and he was happy to pose for a photo, though I did have to coax a smile out of him. 

Theatre of Stars

Sultry summer evening, 

Voices from a nearby garden 

The clink of glasses 

Muted laughter

Doves co-cooing in the branches of a tree

Squadrons of swifts performing aerial acrobatics, 

Screeching their commands as they change formation. 

A single engine plane passes

Above all this

My heart beats its steady rhythm 

ba-boom, ba-oom, ba-boom 

The clock ticks the seconds by

tick-tok, tick-tok, tick-tok

Pulses of energy from across the void of space

Until the night is formed

I am surprised to see stars

(after several cloudy days)

And they effortlessly draw me out 

into the cool stillness of the night

In search of total darkness

I find myself in the graveyard,

(having lifted the latch of the lychgate, quietly)

The only place the glare of streetlights does not intrude

The dead having no need of light

I sense no ghosts here, 

but nevertheless 

I feel a shiver down my spine

As I look up into the cosmos

And take my seat beneath the theatre of stars

20 July 19

Island of the Dead

Island of the Dead

Went to the cemetery today
The boat dropped me off at the pier

It was very quiet
Except for the birdsong 
And the gentle gusts of wind in the trees

As you might imagine
There was a lot of marble —
Tombs, crosses, angels, portraits in relief
Plastic flowers, inscriptions
Dates from, and until.
Fading photographs of people with dated hair styles
Grief, stillness, absence 

I liked the Cypress trees though
They had a nice fresh pine smell
Looked so fantastically green against a backdrop of the deepest blue,
And another boat would soon arrive—
To take me back to the mainland. 


Isola di San Michele, Venezia, 22/V/19

Cows

Such wonderful creatures, cows
We all like to see them
Chewing grass, in the fields
Looking at us as if to say —
           funny old life isn’t it . . .

They look so natural
In the landscape of grassy fields and hedges
Their black and white camouflage a bit eccentric 
And entirely useless 
Yellow plastic tabs stapled to their ears
Swishing their tails to keep the flies away
Udders swollen up with milk
For our Cornflakes, muesli, and cappuccinos 
Very pastoral
Seeing cows
In fields

Another year of Photos

Another year of photos...
The weird, the wonderful and the mundane — plenty of art, travel and inspiration. The occasional patches of darkness but a healthy smattering of blue skies. 
Still casting a shadow . . .

Diary of a Madman

Alarm went off at 5:30
Snoozed for twenty minutes or so . . . 
Fading dreams alternating with . . .  
Fuck! Shouldn’t have finished the wine!
M25 is going to be crap.

Stood under the shower until I could open my eyes
Made a cup of tea
Fed the cat
Ate a bowl of cereal
Listened to the news 
Air strikes over an already pulverised city
Somewhere comfortably far enough away
Not to care too much
Unfortunately there was some ‘collateral damage’…
But the pilots made it home safely.

Drove 40 miles to work 
The traffic was terrible
On the radio they said that the traffic was completely SOLID between junctions 11 and 14 on the M25
I should know, I was stuck in it!

During the morning I found it difficult to concentrate on the screen
At one moment I imagined my legs had become tentacles 
Snaking out along the floor, under the desks . . .

At lunchtime I had a couple of pints (4) with Joe from Accounts
Could hardly keep awake during the afternoon
At 3:30 I had a meeting with Baxter
He said I showed great promise. 

Drove home
The traffic was terrible
On the radio they played 'Road to Nowhere' by Talking Heads.

When I finally got home there was a pile of bills on the doormat.
Fed the cat
Sat on the balcony
Had a couple of cold beers.

My neighbours were having a row
Sounds like he’s having an affair.
Stuck a frozen pizza in the oven
Washed it down with half a bottle of Tesco’s Merlot
Watched an interesting documentary on the box,
But fell asleep half way through. 

Woke up at half past midnight
Had a quick swipe through Tinder
Finished the wine
Brushed my teeth
Had a pee
Set the alarm
Climbed into bed

Dreamt I was an octopus who had its own TV show
There was lots of laughter from the audience.

Oh God! Surely that can’t be the alarm already!!!?

Whatever the question, Love is the answer...

Whatever the question — Love is the answer...